About us

We are a student organization at The University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy.

In GROWTH, we believe that private agents in the market drive value creation and economic growth. We seek to raise awareness of the importance of public policies for wealth creation, private sector development, productivity and competitiveness. We also study ways to make public policy better support these outcomes.

on the importance of growth

In every economy, developed or not, governments affect the incentive structures of private agents. This occurs regardless of how active the government’s role is. In some cases, policy may include sector-specific strategies with targeted public investment. In others, the role of the government is more minimalistic and focused on access to markets, provision of public goods, and setting homogenous rules that offer certainty and stability for agents across all industries. Regardless of the approach, interaction between government and private agents is crucial for development.

Are we studying which policies work? Do we know how to assess their effectiveness? Can we tell what countries similar to ours are doing? Are we aware of what has failed? Do we know what developed countries did to get where they are, and what they are doing now? Can we identify the productive development policies behind recent economic miracles?

More fundamentally, are we aware of the importance of public policies for private sector development? Of their impacts on economic development? On productivity? On competitiveness? On consumer welfare? On poverty reduction? On inequality?

These public policy questions are of paramount importance to people and nations around the world. We are here to highlight these topics at The Harris School of Public Policy as fundamental areas of public policy inquiry.